The Government-appointed Working Group on 14-19 Reform has published its report on possible curriculum and examination reforms for high school students in England (see UK Update February 2003 for background information).

Proposals include:

• The introduction of a diploma (the current national examinations, A-level and GCSE, could be integrated into its four levels known as Entry, Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced)
• Three mandatory core skills: English, math and ICT (information and communications technology)
• Students learn at own pace, assessed when ready
• Assessment by teachers except at advanced level where external examiners used
• Improved vocational options
• Recognition for other experiences, such as voluntary work

The reforms aim to address the needs of employers who have long complained of job applicants lacking the most basic skills, and at the same time challenge more gifted students.  It also is hoped that an improvement in vocational education will engage learners and stem the high drop-out rate among students aged 16.

If adopted, the reforms to curriculum and qualifications will be introduced gradually over the next ten years.  The Government will respond to the proposals in the new year, and in time for the general election scheduled for next year.

The reforms do not affect school children in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.

Read the Final Report of the Working Group on 14-19 Reform.

Scotland is evaluating its own national curriculum for 3-18 year olds, with particular attention to secondary school students (aged 12 and older).  Although Scottish students perform relatively well in comparison to other countries, the reforms aim to help the lowest achieving 20%, many of whom are boys.

The Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) recently published the first report from the Curriculum Review Group, established a year ago.  A Curriculum of Excellence identifies key aspects such as the values on which the curriculum should be based, the purposes that should underlie the education of young people, and principles for curriculum design.  

SEED published  A Curriculum for Excellence; ministerial response which outlines the actions it proposes to take.  The program includes:

• A new gold standard - the Excellence Standard - for top performing schools
• A new 3-18 curriculum - accepting in full the recommendations of the first phase of the curriculum review to deliver more choice, a greater emphasis on literacy and numeracy and more time for students to study Highers (national examinations taken at the end of the school career)
• A review of Standard Grades (national exams taken prior to Highers) to simplify the exams structure
• Allowing students to sit exams earlier
• Allowing elementary teachers to work in secondary schools so that students’ performance does not suffer when they advance to the next stage
• A new Leadership Academy for head teachers, and new routes to becoming a head teacher
• A Schools of Ambition program to fast-track improvements in those schools most in need of transformation or those which want to extend themselves (encouraging funding from private/philanthropic donors)
• Extending devolved school management so that head teachers have more money to spend at their discretion, three year budgets to better plan change and a greater say over staffing structures
• New Skills For Work courses and qualifications to provide students with more vocational choices, in partnership with further education colleges, and more opportunities in the work place
• A new Survey of Achievement to ensure the best possible information is available on schools' performance
• A new round of local authority inspections to ensure they are getting the best performance from their schools and head teachers.

(Sources: NGfL Scotland e-bulletin, 11/8/04; BBC news 11/1/04)

Education and Skills Secretary Charles Clarke marked the start of International Education Week by publishing a comprehensive strategy to build stronger links between the UK education system and its world partners. He envisions that every school in England be ‘twinned’ with a school overseas within the next five years.

The International Strategy for Education, Skills and Children’s Services has set out plans to ensure a strong international dimension across the education system, exchange the latest ideas in education with the UK’s international partners, offer educational support programs to developing nations, and maximize the contribution of education to the economy.

The aims of the strategy include:

• Equipping children and adults for life in a global society and work in a global economy: by promoting global citizenship in the curriculum; twinning all schools with schools overseas via an Internet Global Gateway
• Maximizing the contribution of the education and training sector and university research to overseas trade and inward investment: building on the £10 billion contribution that the sector already makes to the UK economy, by establishing the country as an international leader in the use of ICT (information and communications technology) for education; promoting the role of universities as international hubs for learning and research; and encouraging education and training providers to work internationally in partnership with business.

The Department for Education and Skills has already invested over £1 million in the development of the Global Gateway, an Internet infrastructure developed in partnership with the British Council to help schools establish creative and effective international partnerships, and link schools in this country with schools overseas.  The USA is a partner in this project.

Download and read Putting the World into World-Class Education.

(Source: DfES press release 11/15/04)

In January 2003 Education and Skills Secretary Charles Clarke announced the publication of the White Paper "The Future of Higher Education", which sets out the Government's plans for radical reform and investment in universities and HE colleges.

Following the publication of the White Paper, the Government published a Widening Participation document, which outlined the actions the Government proposed taking to promote Higher Education: Attainment, Aspiration, Application and Admissions.

Please see Update Issue 8 for background to the above.

On July 1st 2004 the Higher Education Act, enacting such reforms as variable tuition fees, was given Royal Assent.   

Briefing papers, providing a current, comprehensive but succinct summary of the structure, funding and characteristics of UK higher education, with a particular emphasis on current strategies and policy issues can be requested by contacting Alison Corbett at British Council USA.

The Department for Education and Skills provides further information at its Higher Education Gateway.

Interactive University (IU) was established in 2002 as a joint initiative between Heriot-Watt University and Scottish Enterprise, the national economic development agency.

Managed by a team which offers both business expertise and academic experience, IU has set out to create a radical new model for global learning. The company designs and animates existing degrees and courses from Scottish universities and markets them as on-line products. It also offers in-country partner institutions a role in providing complementary face-to-face tuition. Revenue is generated by the student paying an annual fee which is split between the IU and its partner university. Every one of the programs offered by Interactive University has been created by a Scottish university or college.

IU is an interactive bridge between the leading Scottish universities and students across the globe who wish to study for a internationally recognized qualification, without leaving their home country. Students can attain a Scottish qualification that is internationally recognized, and locally relevant. The IU courses are delivered both online and through Local Learning Partners in over twenty countries and with around 90,000 students, the IU is one of the largest e-learning facilities in the world.

The IU learning model focuses on the 3Cs: content, context and community. Programs are offered at many different levels, from Foundation to Doctorate. This allows students to follow their own unique study program, perhaps with a particular career path in mind. The learning is a mix of online, interactive study and traditional classroom teaching.

For more information see www.interactiveuniversity.net.

Cardiff University has become one of the largest universities in the UK after merging with the University of Wales College of Medicine with whom it has worked in partnership for more than 75 years. The new institution will have 5,000 members of staff and more than 22,000 students.

For further information see: www.cardiff.ac.uk/focuson/merger.html

(Source: Cardiff University press release, 8/1/04)